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Spanish Influenza
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The viruses of the bird flu and Spanish influenza are indeed alike. Scientists found out that the Spanish influenza genes have a clear avian origin. But the bird flu is unlikely to kill off half of Europe, like Spanish influenza did for one simple reason. At the beginning of the 20th century there were no antibiotics and people were treated with home remedies. These days, the healthcare industry is well equipped to fight the influenza virus with modern methods.
According to Valentin Pokrovskiy, the President of the Russian Academy of Medical Science, in the case with SARS it was clear that there would be no further spreading of the disease, because the only source of infection was consumed rodent meat. In the bird flu case, there is a mass infection of birds and, more importantly, of the environment. Hence fast spreading of flu and its ability to mutate.
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